If working capital were to be renamed "waiting capital", perhaps a revolution of comprehension and corrective action might follow.
Instead, companies large and small raise valuable finance only to lock it up in boxes in warehouses, unpaid invoices and stockpiled raw materials.
The result is a worldwide excess of idle working capital. In the UK, REL Consultancy estimates that companies are holding 28 per cent - Ђ100bn - too much working capital. Across Europe, the same international consultancy puts the cost of such excesses at Ђ65bn in profits foregone.
For managers intent on freeing that suspended cash, the first step is to update payment and bookkeeping methods, says Peter Horrell, director of cash management at Barclays Bank.
